Hanging On
by Jaal Ama Darav
Summary: I know you're out there, looking, I know you haven't given up.


**Hanging On **

**A/N- 1,000 words or less prompt fic. **

**Since this week's writing challenge in the Weekly Writing prompts in Deviantart is Writer's Choice...I have taken the Dark Side path…**

**I am using a trope from the TV tropes website, and the name of the trope is… 'Made a Slave'. **

**Takes place sometime after the Battle of Meridian in my TCBatA universe Alternate Timeline 1, about four or so months. **

* * *

_Sakura. _Jaal's body ached, blue eyes tired, face and skin dirty, clothing filthy and tattered. And carrying the containers full of mined iron, no doubt for the Kett's continued efforts against the Angara and the Andromeda Initiative, only served to make the ache worse. The heat in the mines did not help one bit.

Weeks ago, or was it months? He was with Sakura Ryder and their Asari teammate Peebee on a mission to deal with a group of Kett still loyal to the now dead Archon after a rash of disappearances in the area. Things went wrong, he was separated from Peebee and Sakura, everything after was fuzzy. He awoke on a Kett scanning table, blood drawn from his arm, and a patch of skin removed, scans, and worse was the collaborator he saw. The Salarian Medrow Aden whom Sakura ordered arrested many months ago.

_I know you're out there, looking, I know you haven't given up. _

The Kett Auditor, who looked over the test results, said he was 'worthy' of Exaltation. But they had found out who he was and the fact he killed the Archon. So whoever was ordering them around had him sent here, to this...horrible place to make him suffer.

They've tried to break him completely in many ways including keeping him sun-starved but not enough to kill, guards using their shock-sticks on him for, he could only guess, just because. And there were those...interrogations by the second-in-command. He was nothing but a skkutting sadist who delighted in inflicting pain. Thanks to the skkutter, he had endured mental and physical torture, but he refused to be broken easily.

He glared at the Kett second-in-command nearby- in addition to black skin and bony armor, the creep had green armor inclusive of a matching cloak- keeping a lookout with his whip ready. _I will hang on. I won't let anyone, especially you, break me easily. _

And there was what passed for 'food'. He knew it was tampered, had some kind of toxin which reduced his bioelectric strength, and his own techniques were erratic and unusable. A means of keeping him from effectively striking back against his captors. He had realized, what felt like forever, ago, the fact. And didn't eat or drink to avoid the toxin, and had collapsed. The second-in-command kicked him, hard, in his abdomen right where the scar was. It hurt so bad, and he was dragged to and thrown into his cell in tears. The next time he awoke, he ate and drank, despite knowing he was ingesting the toxins.

The Kett grinned. "Surprising you still have hope. You should realize, by now, no one is coming for you. They've all given up, Pathfinder included."

Jaal's glare intensified. "You skkutting monster! She has not given up. And you better pray to your superiors for a quick death when she finds this place."

He heard the flick of the whip and felt the sting right on the sensitive spot where his scar was. Despite the pain, he winced and held the gasp; not even giving the sadist the satisfaction of hearing his pain.

And the skkutter's harsh voice. "Get back to work, imbecile!"

* * *

Jaal staggered to his cell with each shaking achy footstep. Even with his determination, his body could only take so much.

He suspected due to the back-talk he gave the second-in-command, they made the rest of his day a worse living hell than usual, and forced him to watch others suffer. The worst was the children...it wore on him not physically but mentally.

He stepped through the doorway and felt a white-hot electric pain in his back, a cry of agony escaped his throat, and he fell to his knees onto the metallic green floor. Quickly as his aching body would allow, he crawled across the floor fully into the cell to avoid further punishment.

And heard the voice of his tormentor. "And that is for the back-talk you gave me earlier!" With that, he slammed the cell door shut.

Lit only in the soft glow of the ultraviolet light on the wall near the ceiling, Jaal crawled to the bunk and put a hand on it. He pulled to heave himself onto it and his strength failed him, sending him to the floor painfully.

He laid on the floor, shaking, tears rolling amid weak sobs. _Sakura, please hurry. I don't know how much longer I can __last__. _

He allowed sleep to claim him.

* * *

When he awoke, still weak and cheek pressed to the cold floor, he saw the lights were on. And heard distant gunshots- Angara and Initiative weapons- and the sound of biotics being used. _Could it be...?_

An Asari's voice. "Sakura! I found him!"

_Teuna T'resei? _He heard the cell door being torn off, likely with biotics, and the loud metallic clang of the door hitting the floor followed by running footsteps._Thank the stars._

A pair of gentle hands rolled him onto his back. And it was indeed Teuna, sitting on one knee, one of former Justicar Matriarch Tesuna's apprentices. Yellow facial markings formed 'eyebrows' and lines down from her eyes on her purple skin. "You're safe, we're here. Sakura's coming." She turned on her omni-tool's medical scanner, muttering words his translator didn't catch.

And soon more running footsteps and a face he hadn't seen in what felt like eternity. A strained whisper with hot tears in his eyes. "Sakura." Chocolate brown skin, blue eyes red from recent crying, and her familiar Angaran-designed armor.

Sakura knelt down on one knee, voice choking up. "Oh, Jaal." Her touch was tender and gentle, rubbing his cheek. "I am so sorry we didn't get here sooner." She took one of his hands into her other hand, voice shaking. "I m-missed you so much. I-I was so afraid I lost you forever."

"Darling one." He managed a weak smile, raising a hand to cover her hand rubbing his cheek. "I knew you wouldn't give up."

* * *

**A/N- Bwahahahahahahaha! I know, I am evil...I think I might be becoming a Kett…****and poor Jaal again...**

**Peebee: YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! *****hurls a flurry of biotic lances* **

**Gotta run! Peebee's after me! *runs from a flurry of biotic orbs***


End file.
